


Grit in the Gears

by Laylah



Category: Final Fantasy XII
Genre: Awkward Conversations, F/M, First Kiss
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-10-22
Updated: 2007-10-22
Packaged: 2017-10-12 20:05:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,214
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/128530
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Laylah/pseuds/Laylah
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Balthier is elbow-deep in her gears, cleaning out some grime that's been making one of her flaps stick on the starboard side, when he hears the rattle and clang of the main hangar door opening.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Grit in the Gears

He doesn't _need_ to do maintenance on the _Strahl_ himself. Popo is an excellent mechanic, has been ever since the first time Balthier pulled into the hangar at Balfonheim and hired the moogle to help him strip out the tracking gear that Archadia equipped on all her prototype ships. And even if Popo weren't keeping a close eye on things, Fran has a knack for machinery that would probably outrage her sisters just on principle.

But it's comforting, getting his hands into the _Strahl_ 's underbelly every once in a while and spending a little quality time with her. She's one of the most important women in his life, after all, and he'd hate to neglect her. And traveling in Dalmasca is never terribly good for her -- so much dust in the air, her works always seem to need cleaning, no matter how good a filtration system they install. So Balthier is elbow-deep in her gears, cleaning out some grime that's been making one of her flaps stick on the starboard side, when he hears the rattle and clang of the main hangar door opening.

Popo wouldn't need to use the main door; Fran wouldn't make so much noise; the princess and her knight wouldn't come to find him here unless it were time to leave, which it won't be until tomorrow. "Vaan?" Balthier guesses.

"No."

"Penelo," Balthier says, sitting back on his heels, wiping his hands on a rag on the floor beside him. He's suddenly acutely aware of the fact that he's a mess -- he took off his vest before he started work, because engine grease and brocade have never gone well together, and his shirt is both filthy and sticking to his skin. Not that it seems to be deterring her at all; she's looking at him with the same half-stunned, admiring expression that she'd had on when he gave her his handkerchief and got her into this whole adventure.

"Something I can do for you?" he asks, hoping he can defuse that look with a minimum of fuss. Hero worship is all well and good from a distance, but up close it always seems to make things...sticky.

Penelo smiles at him, trying too hard to be casual, and Balthier can't help a little pang of awkward discomfort on her behalf. "Oh, well," she says. "Hanging out with the kids at Migelo's might be enough for Vaan, and all, but I'm -- well. There's more going on in my life than stealing the Imperials' purses, you know."

"Of course," Balthier says. It feels like a lifetime since he was as young as she seems. He wonders if he makes Fran feel this way very often. Perhaps he ought to apologize, just in case. "You shouldn't discount the value of stealing from the Imperials, though." He lays a hand along the cool, sleek surface of the _Strahl_ 's wing. "This lovely girl started life in an Archadian factory, after all."

"And you stole it -- I mean, her?" Penelo asks, petting the _Strahl_ 's hull carefully. She cocks her head to the side, and Balthier thinks she probably means to look at least a little disapproving, but the curiosity drowns that out easily.

"In one of the more daring feats of piracy in living memory," Balthier says, despite himself. He hadn't meant to encourage her, he really hadn't, but he really is still rather proud of himself for that one. "Mind you, Ba'gamnan never forgave me for leaving him on the ground there, with the Imperials closing in. But he _did_ know that was a risk when he agreed to be the decoy."

Penelo looks a bit stricken, like she was expecting him to be above all that -- like she'd forgotten what kind of company pirates keep. "You worked with Ba'gamnan?" she asks, her voice very small.

Balthier nods. "When I first turned pirate," he says, "and before he turned headhunter. Not as glamorous as partnering with a viera, is it?"

"It's not that!" she protests. "It's just. He was -- so awful."

Balthier tries to keep his tone light; it's often the best defense. "One of the things you'll find about being a sky pirate, should you -- or your young man -- take up a dedicated study of the subject, is that even the best pirate sometimes keeps company with rather unsavory characters."

Penelo looks away. Balthier busies himself finishing up with the cleaning, and pulls the panel closed over the _Strahl_ 's machinery.

"I know that," Penelo says at last. "And anyway, he's not my young man."

Wonderful, Balthier thinks. He'd hoped they were making progress, but apparently not. He wipes his hands again, and rests them on his thighs. "Look," he says. "You're not here to help me work on the _Strahl_ 's engine. You're not here for a history of my piracy career -- as fascinating as I know that is." He sounds like a bastard, but better to cut this off now, he figures, than to let her keep dancing around the issue until it's unbearable for them both. "What is it that you're looking for here?"

"I'm just," Penelo says. "I thought. You know."

He should stop this right now, Balthier thinks, and he opens his mouth to tell her so, to explain that she's a sweet girl but she's awfully young and besides that between Fran and the _Strahl_ it's not as though he can really has time for any other commitments, and then her tongue is in his mouth and he thinks, well, at least she has the _opportunism_ to make a good pirate someday. She puts her hands on his shoulders to steady herself as she sinks down to kneel astride his lap, and it's just instinct for him to get her around the waist to guide her so she doesn't land anywhere awkward. She kisses a lot like he'd expect, a lot like she does most other things, with a lot of enthusiasm to make up for most likely a lack of real experience.

It'd be just plain unkind to not kiss her back, and Balthier likes to think he's rarely unkind. Besides, she picks it up quickly, learning finesse by mimicking the way his tongue spars with hers. And if he's given her at least something nice, perhaps she won't be so upset when he stops her from --

"Ah, that's enough, darling," Balthier says, grabbing Penelo's wrists when she reaches for the buttons of his trousers.

She looks stricken. "You don't -- but -- why?"

He hates this part. "You're a charming girl," he says, and tries not to frown at her when she very nearly pouts. "And you're going to make someone very lucky, one of these days. It'll be your first time, won't it?" She nods reluctantly, and he goes on, "And _that_ shouldn't go to me."

"You're not a very good pirate," she says, and her smile looks a bit fragile, but she's still trying to smile, and that's something.

"I know," Balthier says. He winks at her. "Don't tell Vaan."

Penelo laughs weakly. "I'll keep your secrets if you'll keep mine."

She's a clever girl, Balthier thinks. He kisses her one more time, just a friendly kiss to help ease the sting of the rejection, and smiles as he meets her eyes. "Deal."


End file.
